apps

On the same day that Apple launched a massive iOS app sale, Google has also joined the fun. The company has discounted a plethora of apps on the Play Store to celebrate summer. The discounted apps aren’t unpopular by any stretch of the imagination and include a variety of popular games.

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Kamcord, a popular platform that lets game developers add gameplay recording features to their mobile apps, is today taking its first step into live streaming. The move is a notable one as competitors such as live game streaming service Twitch, now owned by Amazon, move into the mobile space and live streaming apps like Periscope and Meerkat begin to gain traction among users.
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Apple and Google products don’t always play together nicely, but when they do, it’s normally because a third party has created an application or two to get them talking to each other. That’s exactly what Reflector 2 for Mac does (among many other things). If you’ve been wondering how you can get content from your Android smartphone or tablet mirrored or streamed to your Mac (and Windows PC, if you’re into that kinda thing), this is one really easy way.

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Microsoft recently released its Cortana digital assistant as a beta app, and we’ve been able to get our hands on the preview. Apart from its Material-like design, the app looks, performs, and acts just like the Cortana on Windows Phone. You can ask it to set reminders, give you directions and weather information, or do simple arithmetic. It has its limitations and doesn’t feel quite as intuitive or in-depth as Google Now or Siri, but it has its uses.

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Popular iOS and Android apps from companies like Walmart, ESPN, Slack and SoundCloud have been found vulnerable to password cracking, according to a recent report from AppBugs. The security firm found that dozens of the most popular apps are lacking, in that they allow you to make any number of attempts to login without restriction. These clearly opens up a gap for attackers who have the means to guess those passwords and gain access to your accounts.

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Pushbullet has to be one of the most widely adopted apps for Android. It lets you share links, notifications, images, and more across your smartphone and virtually any other device. Today, the company announced that it has added a new SMS UI to its desktop presence. With today’s update, you can now you can see entire conversations on your computer.
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Update: This article states that the upcoming Commodore PET smartphone is being made by Commodore. While this is true, it’s not the same corporation, nor is it under the same management, that created both the Commodore 64 and Amiga computer line. The company creating this smartphone was incorporated just this past March in the United Kingdom, while the original Commodore International was founded in Ontario, Canada and shut its doors in 1994. It’s an example of deceptive practices.

My first real taste of technology was as a kid. Myself and two of my siblings would huddle around the TV with a Commodore Amiga plugged in and sit playing Buggy Boy, Lemmings, Batman, ThunderCats and bunch of other titles for hours. If it wasn’t for my brother’s temper and his destruction of too many joysticks, I’m sure we’d have enjoyed many more hours. So I couldn’t just skip over Wired’s piece on the upcoming Commodore smartphone without writing about it.

You read that right: A smartphone made by Commodore is coming to market soon. Dubbed the Commodore PET, it’s coming with a couple of emulators built in out-of-box so you can play all your favorite Amiga and V64 titles.

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Google today has released version 2.0 of AdWords Express for Android. For those unfamiliar with the app, AdWords Express allows users to quickly create ads via their smartphone. Google says ads can be created in less than 15 minutes, and advertisers only pay when potential customers click the ad. Today, AdWords Express has been updated with a new, Material Design interface to fall more in line with Google’s other applications for Android.

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In a blog post this morning, Sony announced that it has partnered with Twitch to let select Xperia smartphones broadcast live gameplay to the popular game broadcasting service. While Twitch has offered Android users the ability to watch live broadcasts for some time, this will be the first time you’ll be able to broadcast your mobile gameplay live to Twitch watchers.

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Towards the end of June, Adobe launched brand new versions of its Creative Cloud apps for Android. There were four main ones in total, each offering unique features and purposes for existence. This is our first look and walkthrough of those apps.
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At long last, action is being taken against bloatware on Android devices. Samsung and Oppo are facing lawsuits over their use of pre-installed apps. Both companies are being sued by the Shanghai Consumer Rights Protection Commission, as revealed in a report by the Shanghai Daily. In a study of 20 phones, multiple devices were found to have apps which were not only pre-installed but also unremovable.

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According to The Information, Google secretly bought “app streaming” startup Agawi late last year, an acquisition that wasn’t reported until today. The company built technology that is basically the Netflix or Spotify of apps—letting users stream games and apps to their phone without having to necessarily “download” them:

The search giant last fall secretly acquired an “app streaming” startup called Agawi whose technology allows people to access apps on their smartphone without downloading them first.

The acquisition, which hasn’t been previously reported, provides strong clues about the direction that Google is trying to move mobile software development.

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Pushbullet is an essential part many an internet user’s every day routine, and now the company behind the cross-platform file moving app has released a new — and yet very old — way of transferring files from one device to another. The company’s new app, called Portal, lets you effortlessly transfer files from your computer to your smartphone or tablet directly over your local WiFi connection. It’s simple and lightweight, but that’s what makes it powerful.
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Google’s policies around pricing in the Google Play store make it impossible to offer an app for free for a limited time and then change it back to a paid app later. Once the developer makes an app free, their only option to make it paid again is to pull the app and re-publish to the store. Thanks to the keen eye of one Redditor, though, it seems that Google may now be offering a promotion similar to that from Apple’s App Store in which one paid app each week is made available for free.

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The upcoming Hangouts 4.0 update was shown off by Android Police yesterday, but now the publication is sharing images of its Android Wear counterpart—something that, for some, might be even more exciting than the full app. It’s been a long time coming, but it looks like Google is finally preparing to officially bring its popular messaging platform to the wrist…
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